History of Architecture - Discuss and compare the interaction of nationalism and building style in three buildings or periods. What is the role of innovation and or appropriation in the representation of national identity and political ideology? Throughout history, architecture has been employed in the service of politics, as symbols of the state. Architecture is therefore shaped by the national traditions in the pursuit of projects of identity, modernity, power, and prestige. A building is not merely a walled structure, but a metaphor for national ideology as it embodies the civic life of the citizens that it houses, as well as the ideals of the nation within which it resides. This paper will explore three varying architectural periods and examine the interaction between nationalism and the building styles that developed either as a means to express it. A prime example that conveys the idea of buildings being used to express a sense of national identity lies within the Roman Empire and its consequent architecture. In order for the Romans to maintain control of their vast Empire, they required the building of both formal architecture, like temples and basilicas, as well as effective infrastructure, such as bridges, roads and aqueducts. The construction of roads and bridges allowed for communication between all the different provinces. Aqueducts allowed the Romans to supply the cities with water, whilst fortifications and city walls helped to protect them. Roman cities consisted of a network of administrative centers and the buildings within them acted as visual symbols of power throughout the Empire. However, the success of the building schemes relied on the construction methods and innovations that are now attributed as bei... ... middle of paper ... ...cticism of the towers might in fact be the architectural commentary of this fact. Fig 1.3 John and Washington Roebling. Brooklyn Bridge. New York. 1867-83. (Image taken from Tranchtenberg, Marvin, Isabelle Hyman. Architecture: From Prehistory to Postmodernity. Second Edition. Prentice Hall, Inc. New Jersey: 2002.) Nationalism is regarded the pride of place and of the many traditions that have evolved in the geographies. One way of visually capturing this phenomenon is through the architecture, which will boast features that are unique to the culture’s identity in either form, technological innovations or in function. All of the three examples that were explored in this paper express a sense of national pride through their individual technological advances that lead to the greatest possible representation of their philosophical and cultural ideologies.
William H. Pierson, Jr., American Buildings and Their Architects: Technology and the Picturesque, (Doubleday & Company, Inc.), 167.
Dell Upton is a historian and renowned professor of architecture and Urbanism at the University of California. He has published several books on architecture; one of them is “Architecture in the United States”, published in 1998. In this book, Upton analyzes the architecture of the United States in different aspects, such as nature, money and art, thus depicting the great variety in architectural forms, and how throughout the decades, different interests have lead communities to different ways of building, different purposes and materials, thus reflecting their way of thinking and their relationship with the environment. By exploring so many different architectural styles, Upton reveals the great diversity and richness that has always, and continues to characterize American architecture.
Architecture is the staple of the struggle of one’s people, the height of one’s success and the motivation to conquer when one is defeated. It reveals more about one’s people than what the entire populace is able to utter in words and symbols. Architecture has the most influence on one’s people than perhaps the people themselves. Architecture has power, gives hegemony, and empowers its people. It comes to no surprise that Rome is considered the more powerful cities in the world because its architecture reveals the most about its reign. Rome is most known for their architectural designs much of which had influences from Greek culture. They were enthused by their Etruscan neighbors that guided them to develop knowledge that became essential in creating the design works that they utilized for future art works (Trueman). Given their new found knowledge and influences from Greek and Phoenician cultures they were able to implement some ideas into their own stately figures that reflect their lifestyle. It was then that Roman architecture flourished throughout the Empire and Pax Romana century (Trueman). Their architectural designs resembled a wealthy lifestyle. A...
As someone with a passion for writing, my final project will be an extended expository essay about the history of homebuilding from ancient to modern times. It will discuss the different types of dwellings throughout recorded human history from the perspective of how art and culture influences building design. This will fulfill my own curiosity to understand the different influences on homebuilding and design over the years and how people have dealt with these changes.
Culture gives identity to its origin and makes its origin unique. Culture means a group of people’s way of life and way of understanding the world, belief, and value; which is different from other groups’. Each country has different cultural activities and rituals. This is why every country or region has their own culture. Culture can be expressed by arts, including architecture. ‘An architecture capable of supporting our identity has to be situationally, culturally, and symbolically articulated. I am disturbed by the notion of regionalism because of its geographic and ethnological connotations and would rather speak of situational or culture-specific architecture’ (Pallasmaa 1988, p. 130). Is it necessary applying a country’s native style
One of the great things about America is the fact that it echoes previous centuries in ways that not many people would expect. Due to its diversity, it is thought of as a melting pot because it is filled with all kinds of culture and people from all over the world. But instead of this stereotypical metaphor, America can be thought of as the place where world architecture has not died, but instead has continued to thrive in a way that makes it suitable towards modern expectations. Greek architecture has been one of the most commonly used within this context. Although it emerged almost 3,000 years ago, the application of their architecture is still widely used today in places that aren’t Europe. We can see evidence of this through America’s government and financial buildings such as the Georgia’s Chamber of Commerce, the Capitol and even more commonly known, the White House. The White House is a major symbol of the United States and when bystanders observe its white walls, they not only a building of high status among the American people, but they also catch a glimpse into the past of centuries worth of influential architecture.
To obtain and understanding of the current state of American Architecture and its development, we must first briefly establish the origin of architecture in America. Much of the 17th-century English colonial architecture resembled late medieval forms that had survived throughout much of rural England. The first American architecture houses were built in a wide range of sizes, gables, and overhangs. They also had a lack of symmetry that was reflected in the late medieval style throughout Europe. However, unlike rural England’s architecture, in Virginia and Maryland; brick construction and a symmetrical facade were preferred for one story homes. Upon the idea of domestic homes, cities began to be founded in the 17th century. Cities such as Boston, were chaotic in plan and with the turn of the 18th century, colonies began to take on a more permanent role, often establishing individual character. Newly founded cities, such as: Williamsburg, Virginia; Annapolis, Maryland, and especially Philadelphia began to be laid out in a logical organization of regular grids. This eluded planners in London during the same period and thus the diverse seed of American architecture was planned. Continuing the development of unique American architecture, American in the early 1890s began to value their own heritage and architectural language featuring larger neighborhood tracts. In the 19th century, the Colonial Revival style took a more eclectic style, and columns were often seen.
The essence of modern architecture lays in a remarkable strives to reconcile the core principles of architectural design with rapid technological advancement and the modernization of society. However, it took “the form of numerous movements, schools of design, and architectural styles, some in tension with one another, and often equally defying such classification, to establish modernism as a distinctive architectural movement” (Robinson and Foell). Although, the narrower concept of modernism in architecture is broadly characterized by simplification of form and subtraction of ornament from the structure and theme of the building, meaning that the result of design should derive directly from its purpose; the visual expression of the structure, particularly the visual importance of the horizontal and vertical lines typical for the International Style modernism, the use of industrially-produced materials and adaptation of the machine aesthetic, as well as the truth to materials concept, meaning that the true nat...
In the process of development of human society, architecture and culture are inseparable. Cuthbert (1985) indicates that architecture, with its unique art form, expresses the level of human culture in different historical stages, as well as the yearning towards the future. According to his article, it can be said that architecture has become one of the physical means for human to change the world and to conquer the nature. Consequently, architecture has been an important component of human civilization. Since 1980s when China started the opening and reforming policy, a variety of architectural ideas, schools and styles have sprung up. Accompanying with a momentum of...
Having a sense of belonging is one of several fundamental human needs and national identity refers to a person’s sense of belonging to one country with its history, values and traditions. Since achieving independence in 1957, the issue of Malaysia’s national identity has been in the spotlight due to its strong social, political and economical factors implication. As a multi-cultural country, the search for a national identity is not an easy undertaking as Malaysians consist of different ethnics such as Malay, Chinese and Indian. Each ethnic group contributes their own unique culture and religion, hence making it difficult to form a Malaysian identity. In fact, in September 2010, Prime Minister Najib Tun Razak announced the 1 Malaysia concept. This concept acts as a call-for-action for the government leaders and bodies to place a greater emphasis on national unity and ethnic tolerance. This demonstrates that even at present day, Malaysia’s national identity remains unsettled. Architecture plays an important role in achieving national identity and this essay aims to discuss the significant events that transpire throughout the history of the country that contributed in shaping and altering Malaysian vernacular architecture as well as to examine why Malaysia’s national identity still remains unsettled.
Architecture has always been an integral part of the society and its culture. It not only defines the space of the community that it participates in but it also shapes the community’s place in history. Moreover, historians all over the world have found architecture playing a key role while they study the communities in time periods. Architecture helps the historian decipher the civilization's daily life and the values they hold. The historians are able to decipher as such by looking at the recurring structural feature and ornamental feature of certain buildings of certain time period. Some of the significant feature of the building usually defines the political regime or the religious values of the civilization.
Architecture has been known as the product of aesthetics, structure, and function that serves to address social needs, resolve environmental and humanitarian problems through built form. Architecture not only shelters, but also has the ability to consolidate boundaries within our society. It realizes the role by physically defining space and by imposing its symbolic, representative meaning onto our living environment. As Ludwig Wittgenstein once said, “Architecture immortalizes and glorifies something”. Indeed, architecture must be documentary and didac...
The book as a description of modern architecture, its styles and influence succeeds but falls short as a prescriptive methodology. His work is still recalled for the need by modernists to categorize everything into neat little boxes, not necessarily for the sake of uniformity, but for sake of some ambiguity. The ambiguity may be the triumph of this book as post modern architecture era is supposed to create more questions than the answers.
In this essay I will discuss how concrete regionalism was presented in the work of Le Corbusier who is the most classic example of this movement, Oscar Niemeyer, and Antoine Predock . With each architect having a highly individual vision that has created unique buildings for people and their environment. These architects each has combined vernacular buildi...
Behind every architectural work there is an architect, whether the architect is one man or woman, a small group, or an entire people. The structure created by any of these architects conveys a message about the architect: their culture, their identity, their struggles. Because of the human element architects offer to their work not just a building is made, but a work of art, a symbol of a people, a representation, is also created.